Piano-action



(No Model.)

I. BULLARD.

PIANO ACTION.

No. 290,527. Patented Dec. 18, 1883.

WITNEEEEE MZM A 5 STATES ISAAC BULLARD, OF READVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

PlANO-ACTIGN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 290,527, dated December 18, 1883.

(No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Isaac BULLARD, of the village of Readville, town of Hyde Park, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, a citizen of the United States, have in: vented new and useful Improvements in Actions for Upright Pianos, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in explaining its nature, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of an aetion.having my improvement, at rest-,- and Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, representing the action at the instant of striking.

The invention is an improvement upon that described and claimed in my Letters Patent No. 251,3l8, dated December 27,1881.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a pianokey. It is pivoted at a, and may be balanced by means oflead plugs or other means, or in any other suitable manner, so that when not supporting the action the inner end, a, may be up or down, as preferred, the balancing of the key not being of material importance.

The rocker B is hinged or pivoted at b to the flange Z), fastened to the rail 7)", audit carries at its outer end the extension 0, which is pivoted thereto and to the jack-bed E and serves to connect the rocker with the jack-bed. The jack-bed is pivoted at c to the flange 6, supported by the rail 6-, and the extension 0 supports and operates the back check F, as described in said patent. The rocker is provided with the downwardly projecting portion or extension Z), which bears upon the upper surface of the key, near its end. The extent of upward movement of the rocker, jackbed, and inner end of the key is limited or adjusted in part by means of the adjustable stop D, and also in part by the stop D, beneath the front end of the key. Either stop, however, may be used for limiting the extent of upward movement of the rocker.

The knuckle G is connected with the extension by means of the bridle g and the bridle rod or wire and I am thereby enabled to utilize the bridle at the commencement of the downward movement of the action after a note has been struck,to return the hammer to a position over the knuckle to repeat and prevent it from remaining stationary while the action is returning to its original posit-ion, thus doing away with the possibility of the motion or impulse of the key not being communicated to the hammer, as is the case sometimes with the old construction, which employs a bridle so loose at the commencement of the downward movement of the action that the jack can fall from the hammer-knuckle and leave the hammer in an upright or vertical position,or one where it is not adapted to receive the impulse from the movement of the jack. This result is accomplished by uniting the knuckle to a portion of the action which has very nearly the same extent of movement as the knuckle and uniform with it,thereby keeping the bridle in very nearly a taut condition throughout the upward and downward move ments of the action. This is one of the advantages that are provided by the construction. Another advantage arises from the fact that, by a practically-taut connection between the knuckle and the extension immediatelybefore the hammer strikes the string,the spoon h upon the inner end of the jack-bed is always caused to actuate the lever h, carrying the damper 71*, because the hammer cannot reach the string without actuating, through the bridle, the jack-bed and the spoon thereon, so that if sufficient movement, for any reason, should not be given the jack-bed by the primary impulse from the key to cause the same to actuate and throw off the damper from the string, the movement of the hammer can be relied upon to furnish the additional movement of the j ack-bed necessary for the purpose.

The parts shown in the drawings and not herein specifically described are like those described in my said patent, or are of ordinar" construction and need not further be referre to herein.

In addition to the advantages which hat been enumerated, the construction of the 21 tion is such that avery prompt, easy, and n1: form movement is given the key.

In lieu of attaching the bridle directlytotl knuckle, it may be fastened to the hammerrod, or to any arm dependingtherefrom or from the knuckle.

By connecting the knuckle with the extension, as herein described, I am enabled to make construction is preferred, because the projecthe leverage or connection between the jackbed and. damper-lever such that the weight or stress of the damper-spring shall not come upon the jack-bed until the key has reached very nearly its lowest position, and I represent in the drawings for accomplishing this purpose the spoon made shorter than is usual, and so that its end shall not come in contact with the damper-lever until the key is well down. It is obvious that by relieving the action of the stress of the spring till thetime stated its lightness is increased, and it is also obvious that it would not be desirable to make such a short connection between the jack-bed and damper if the bridle-connection, as herein described, did not provide a sure means of causing the operation of the damper if the primary impulse of the key did not reach it.

The bumper lWI has the projecting portion. at formed in the wood or by padding, and covered with leather or felt, and it comes in con- 1 tact with the felt f 011 the back-check upon the rebound of the hammer fromthe string. This tion embeds itself in the felt, and is held therebysufficiently to restrain the hammer from bounding from the back-check.

Having thus fully described myinvention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1. In an upright-piano action, the bridle 9, connecting the knuckle with the pivoted connection piece, link, or extension 0, all substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. The combination of the pivoted connecting piece, link, or extension (I, knuckle G, and bridle all substantially as and for the purposesdescribed.

3. The combination of the knuckle G, the damper 7f, the damper-lever h, the jack-bed E, its spoon h, the pivoted link, piece, or extension O, and the bridle g, all substantially as and for the purposes described.

ISAAC BULLARD.

Witnesses:

F. F. RAYMOND, 2d, W. CLIFTON Foee. 

